in washington a deadline for occupy protesters to leave two camp sites has come and gone. instead of packing up yesterday afternoon, demonstrators put up a huge blue tarp at one park. police said they were enforcing a camping ban but only by reminding the occupiers that it's illegal to sleep at the encampments. there were no arrests. so really what was the point of that? >> a fair enough question. also a lot of questions on this story as well. the florida highway patrol is under fire this morning for its decision to reopen an interstate near gainesville just before that deadly series of crashes. as the governor now orders an investigation into that decision, we are learning some new details about that fatal pileup. with more on, this here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: the very moment of impact, in these just-released 911 tapes you can hear the apocalyptic scene unfold. one witness estimates cars were going as fast as 80 miles an hour straight into the wreckage. >> oh, [ bleep ]. another accident. oh, my gosh. >> what just happened? tell me what happened. >> another accident. another accident. oh, my goodness. and that was a truck. >> reporter: the skeletons of 18-wheelers and cars smoldered for hours the pileup on i-75. early sunday morning south of gainesville, florida. >> you hear cracks and thuds and bumps and hits. you just hear the sound of metal breaking. >> reporter: steven randall camps was in a car wedged between two semis. >> you hear people crying. you hear people, you know, just basically asking why -- the fog was so dense that, you know, you could literally get out of the car and you could hold up your hand and you wouldn't see it. >> reporter: authorities blame the carnage on what's called a super fog, a combination of ash from a nearby brush fire mixing with water particles, creating a wall of fog that's completely impenetrable. it forms quickly and visibility drops to near zero. you get a feel for just how dangerous it is from this clip that local station bay news 9, after similar conditions cost four lives in 2008. >> you can't see me anymore in this smoke. >> reporter: sunday's haze was so thick rescuers had to locate victims by their moans and screams. authorities had temporarily closed the road following two earlier accidents on saturday, then reopened it. minutes later, devastation. >> the roadway appeared to be clear and able to be navigated, and then it can change just in an instant. >> reporter: and police are telling us that if they catch someone who did in fact cause those fires that arsonist could be charged with multiple counts of manslaughter. matt gutman, abc news, miami. >> and you hear authorities in that story say conditions change so fast, so it's hard to blame them necessarily for reopening the road. they're trying to keep, you know, traffic moving and not to cause backlogs. but if the situation can change that rapidly, why wasn't someone monitoring it to close it down again when conditions got worse again? >> and that -- the victims less the fatality numbers are fluctuating. we're hearing ten. i read a story bay paabout a pa and his wife and a daughter. another daughter's in critical condition. >> the numbers change too. still counting unfortunately. this is an awful situation. moving on now, central new york could see another couple inches of snow today after getting buried by 2 1/2 feet of it. the heavy band of lake effect snow sat over the town of fulton for hours yesterday while some neighboring towns only got a few inches or so. the snow won't stick around for long, though. temperatures in the area will climb to the 50s tomorrow. >> i'm ready for some snow here. >> stop saying that. we had two or three blizzards last year. leave that for your folks in chicago. we don't like all that snow in new york. >> just one little snow -- make some snow angels and be done with it. >> here's a look at your non-snow forecast. showers from upstate new york to new england and from little rock to cleveland. thunderstorms around new orleans and houston to light snow in northern minnesota and michigan. some rain in the pacific northwest and northern california. >> 60s sacramento. 45 in boise. minneapolis 42. k.c. 60. 65 at baltimore. and 78 in miami. well, the masters golf tournament is not until april, but who needs that, of course, when it's late january and there is some ice golfing to do. >> ice golfing? >> yes, that's right. you heard it right. ice golfing. that's exactly what they were doing on a frozen lake out in colorado last weekend. >> it's like they're using tennis balls, though. a bunch of folks bundled up, grabbed the clubs, and hit tennis balls around the 18-hole course. organizers said some golfers took it all a bit more seriously than others. >> all the entry fees and donations went to a charity that works with disabled adults. so a little crazy but all for a good cause. >> it's like putt putt. >> that's my game. putt-putt. >> with a tennis ball. >> more "world news now" coming up right after this. ♪ cold, cold, cold [ male announcer ] new vicks nature fusion cold & flu syrup. flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new nature fusion cold & flu from vicks. ♪ that tonight's going to be a good, good night ♪ ♪ tonight's the night ♪ let's live it up one of my favorite party songs of last year. got to say that. all right. college life is rarely luxurious, as we all know, but some students today are making thrift an extreme sport. >> they've come up with radical strategies for saving money that just might reflect the tough times they've grown up in. abc's yunji de nies has the story. >> reporter: like a lot of college guys will thomason eats constantly. >> this is so yummy. >> reporter: pizza, nutella. hush puppies, sandwiches, mac and cheese. >> pretty good meal. >> reporter: and get this. he doesn't pay for any of it. will is on a mission to eat for free for an entire year. at 21 he is the poster child for generation cheap. mi millennials who've grown up with recession, debt, and historical unemployment who aren't ashamed to pinch pennies. >> reporter: it is a little bit of seeing if i can live off the land in the jungle of chapel hill. >> reporter: he showed us how he does it, taking me to breakfast. >> i feel a little embarrassed to just go up there and take food. >> oh, that's exactly what they want. >> reporter: the campus is full of free food events like this. will never goes hungry, though he's the first to admit being this thrifty has its drawbacks. >> how do you have like, let's say, a love life? can you date when you are on this diet? >> that has been the big thing. when i get asked on dates, i definitely ask, so who's buying here? what are we doing? >> reporter: when i was in college, you didn't really think about the future. what's different? >> we're just surrounded by this story of more and more economic crisis, more and more need for saving and for savvy spending. >> at night i just have bread and oranges. >> reporter: derek richardson is another 21-year-old who shares that survivalist mentality. the utah state university junior stores most of his food on campus. that's because there's no fridge at his place. eight months ago eric ditched his apartment for a tent. >> so this is our house. right here's where i usually sleep. this is my mat. we got it up here drying. we got it a little soaked in the last storm. >> reporter: to cook he and his tentmate tyson have to get creative. >> ooh. that is looking good, tyson. >> reporter: no rent, no utilities, no cable. the living is cheap. >> i mean, we saved a lot of money already. thousands of dollars. >> reporter: eric is so cheap he was featured in "cheapster." >> ten penny pinchers will battle it out. >> reporter: an online reality contest where zions bank crowned the most frugal of them all. eric dived through dumpsters, competed in iron chef, the cheap edition, and modeled thrift store fashion. >> i think this will become a real defining moment for this generation and will impact, you know, how they manage their finances in the future. >> reporter: back at unc it's dinner time. will's just wrapped up a campus tour and is grabbing some free food from the reception. >> so this is looking good. >> reporter: will and so many 20-somethings are living with less and liking it. >> i have switched my priorities from being able to drive a nice car and have a nice tv and all those types of things to be able to live appreciating the types of things that i think can come a lot of times for free. >> reporter: call them the free generation. yunji de nies, abc, chapel hill, north carolina. >> i respect the frugality, some good life lessons. i don't no how he's pulling that off. especially in college. >> especially college at chapel hill. >> my alma mater. >> some beautiful young lasses there. and he says that it's maybe not asking girls out on a date. >> saving money or the dating live in college and a beautiful campus with beautiful southern women like carolina has? that's a bold call, my friend, one that you are clearly a stronger man than i. mm-hmm. could not do it. but hey, you know, it's impressive they can be that frugal. good luck with that. >> there's a difference between frugality and just being flat out cheap. >> this is flat out cheap. come on, man. >> i'm frugal. >> have a few dates. >> ramen noodles at least. 19 cents a bag. >> we'll be right back. stay with us. ♪ from the first time we met ♪ i knew ♪ divorce in america is less common than it used to be, but then again, so is marriage. >> that's what makes one texas couple so amazing. yesterday they celebrated 3/4 of a century together. and they can still laugh about it. here is jamie william of kltv in tyler, texas. >> reporter: leila and virgil harris have passed silver, gold, and diamond and hit the diamond gold anniversary. so many years they ran out of precious stones and metals and had to combine them. >> oh, i've got to stop. >> reporter: he's 97 and still gets around just fine. she's 96 and still has plenty to say. they met at a service station where virgil worked. >> her sister came down and bought some gasoline. two gallons for a quarter. so we met. >> i thought he was the cutest thing. my daddy cried when he saw him. that he is a good-looking man. >> reporter: so dad approved of a first date. >> we went out to the old mill inn, which is the place everybody went. >> they had good hot chocolate. >> reporter: that cocoa led tie wetting in 1937. virgil took a job in houston with the railroad. the long-distance relationship worked because they always had a free ride. >> sometimes i had to put us in a box car to settle down. no, we were all first class. >> reporter: did leila think about divorce? >> she said no. but murder, a lot of times. >> if you look all your life for something, you're not going to find what you want, perfection. >> reporter: they still have misunderstandings. last week virgil said i'm so proud of you, and she replied, i'm tired of you too. >> she's the love of my life and she is. we hold hands once in a while. that's to keep her from hitting me. >> reporter: they both say laughter and the lord have made a powerful bond for them. >> that is awesome. >> i'm a huge believer in the power of laughter. i think that can keep people together. >> tired of you too? >> tired of you too. >> you've got to laugh. >> very cool. they have three children. one unfortunately passed away. they also have five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. a lot of love in that family. >> five more years times ten. 50 more for that lovely couple. like you used to? when you fear losing your independence? who do you call? call hoveround now, to see if you qualify for america's premier power chair. hi, i'm tom kruse, inventor and founder of hoveround. now you can do more, see more, enjoy life more. here's why hoveround makes it easier than any other power chair. hoveround is more maneuverable to get you through the tightest doors and hallways. more reliable. hoveround employees build your chair, deliver your chair, and will service your chair for as long as you own your chair. and most importantly, 9 out of 10 people got their hoveround for little or no cost. call now for your free dvd and information kit. and now every hoveround comes with this tote bag and cup holder for handy access to your favorite items. you don't really have to give up living because you don't have your legs. call now for your free consultation. and right now, get this limited edition hoveround america travel mug free with your hoveround delivery. call or log onto hoveround.com right now! ugh, great. you may be going up, but those roots are bringing you down! try root touch-up by nice 'n easy. to extend the life of your color. nice 'n easy has 50% more shades, so you can find your seamless match. with root touch-up by nice 'n easy. and then treats day after day... well that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! 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[ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only listerine® that gets teeth two shades whiter and makes tooth enamel two times stronger. get dual-action listerine® whitening rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth. i would never go out without my covergirl. i want to look natural, not naked! but look! with covergirl, all you need is 3 little things to make beauty powerful for you. lashblast for voluptuous volume, outlast -- to keep your lips beautiful and not come off if you kiss... simply ageless foundation to help you look young. see? just three. easy breezy beautiful covergirl. ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" delivers your morning papers. all right, folks, if you're eating something right now, your breakfast, your cheerios, whatever you're doing, you may want to put it down, some of you out there. this one may not sit well in the stomach. this comes from the "daily mail." this is a woman named melanie voras who lives in seattle, washington. and she's what they call a forager. so she kind of lives off the land. sxw and one of her favorite delicacies, squirrels. she likes squirrels. typically folks in rural america you'll sometimes find eat squirrels. but now she's trying to move this trend into the big city. she thinks commercial meat is unethical because of the antibiotics and the inhumane ways the animals are butchered. so she lives off these squirrels. what she does, she traps them with peanut butter and crackers. she then drowns the squirrel, cuts its throat to bleed it out, skins it, guts it, and then braises it in white wine with mushrooms and risotto. and she says it is the ultimate local meat. >> and it's natural. >> i think it's the nuttiest thing i've ever heard. but i've never had it. so i can't say it. >> anything unnatural going into the squirrel -- >> who aim to argue with squirrels? i just want to put that out there. >> this woman, we were first introduced to her a while ago. fell yooes cohen. she lived in a 90-square-foot apartment. now, she's moving out of that 90-square-foot apartment. she was basically living in somebody's walk-in closet. she made the most of it. >> there's her bed. >> reporter: her landlord said he was going to up the rent. she was living illegally. she was paying but the landlord's going to up the rent. she is now moving into a 500-square-foot palatial mansion -- ♪ moving on up yes. believe it or not, for that 90-square-foot walk-in closet she was paying $700 a mop. >> which is phenomenal here in new york. >> yes. >> keep that in mind. the real estate market here is a little crazy. >> i need to get some storage tips from her. >> she's good. 90 square feet. you kidding me? also here interesting story. apparently the car formerly driven by president obama is now for sale on ebay by this resident in illinois named tim o'boyle. he's selling this sedan, a 2005 chrysler 300c. the car's worth around $14,000. guess what? dude trying to make a million dollars off of this by selling it on ebay. so far shockingly no bids for the car. but it is legitimately president obama's former car, now on the auction block. if you want it, check out ebay. >> okay. so this happened in kitsap county. a 21-year-old who -- a resident of the bangor submarine base, having some drinks with friends, stepped out for a while, walked into the wrong house, got in bed with an elderly woman on accident. whoops. >> that's tough, though. but you know, one of the this morning on "world news now" -- your voice, your vote. florida voters head to the polls in just a few hours from now after a vicious primary campaign. >> mitt romney and newt gingrich have been battling for every vote in this sunshine state showdown. it's tuesday january 31st. you said that very well. i was a little nervous. sunshine state showdown. >> she sells sea shells in the sunshine state showdown. >> you're good, faris. you're good. good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. one new poll just out gives mitt romney a 15-point lead over newt gingrich as florida republicans vote in today's primary. but gingrich says a loss today will not stop his push for the white house. >> he's saying he very well may take this all the way to the convention. but you can imagine it's not what the establishment wants to hear. they like to get this thing over with, you know, quicker than -- much more quickly than that so they can focus instead on obama and not each other. so we'll see how that plays out. but florida, it's your turn. let's go. also another big headline this morning, former hostage jessica buchanan is going home to pennsylvania after her three months of hell in somalia. we'll hear from buchanan's father. it is an abc news exclusive. >> great to see her back on american soil. and later this half hour, tupperware's top seller is someone named aunt barbara. and she shows us this job is truly a drag. you can tell where we're going with that one. tupperware. >> good morning to you. >> i could use some tupperware. that stuff lasts forever. >> yeah. but first, a big turnout is expected today in florida as primary voters finally head to the polls. >> a confident and relaxed romney is all but predicting that he's going to win. but gingrich is vowing to bounce back. karen travers is joining us from tampa with more on what's ahead. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. yesterday mitt romney looked like a guy who was having a lot of fun on the campaign trail and someone who's expecting a big win here in florida today. at his last event before the polls open he didn't even bash newt gingrich. with a double-digit lead in the polls mitt romney decided to change his tune. ♪ oh beautiful ♪ for spacious skies in his final event before the polls open here in florida mitt romney skipped the trash talking, a rare easing up on newt gingrich. >> i believe in american greatness. i believe in america's exceptionalism. >> reporter: the romney campaign is showing its confidence from the candidate down to his 5-year-old grandson, parker. >> it looks like papa's going to win. >> reporter: gingrich's big win in south carolina breathed new life into his campaign. but team romney blunted any further surge with a bombardment of negative ads. in the past week romney and his allies have hammered gingrich, spending nearly $13.8 million on attack ads in florida. that's nearly four times what gingrich and his allies have spent here. >> people backed up and said wow -- frankly, if that stuff was true, i wouldn't vote for myself. >> reporter: he may not be spending as much on negative television ads, but gingrich is blasting romney on the campaign trail. >> why would anybody in the establishment think that a massachusetts moderate, which is a liberal by republican standards, why would they think that he's going to be able to debate barack obama? >> reporter: gingrich says no matter what happens he's staying in the race until the convention. >> that's usually an indication you think you're going to lose. >> reporter: here's another sign of how confident the romney campaign is here in florida. today the candidate has no campaign events. newt gingrich has five. rob and paula, back to you. >> in case you're wondering why florida is so important, one, it's a very politically distinct state, but secondly this is the first state that will award all of the delegates. it's a winner take all system. the winner gets all 50 delegates from the state of florida. the match number for the republicans is 1,044 delegates. 50 is a nice chunk and a momentum boost. >> and you heard about the numbers differentiating the two, romney and gingrich. and earlier in the spain he said we just conducted a poll and in one we're neck and neck. but it's amazing at the start of the campaign nine days ago gingrich had a five percentage point lead over romney and he certainly has stumbled. >> twists and turns. and today the biggest poll of all. the poll that counts. be sure to tune in to abc news tonight as we bring you the results of the big florida primary. diane sawyer, george stephanopoulos, of course will be back to update the race throughout the night. two senators are now pushing a bill designed to crack down on iran. their legislation would apply strict new sanctions on individuals and companies that do business with the iranian government. and it comes as iran says it has produced laser-guided artillery shells capable of hitting moving targets. iran's military also said yesterday it will unveil new satellites and missile systems in the next ten days. the family of former hostage jessica buchanan is being pretty tight-lipped about her homecoming here in the u.s. buchanan was rescued by navy s.e.a.l.s last week after three months of being held by pirates in somalia. abc's diane sawyer talked to buchanan's father yesterday as he of course anxiously awaited her arrival back home. >> we're doing well as a family. jessica, we have not seen her yet. so today's the big day. >> what is it you most want to say to her? >> i love you. you know? face to face again. >> it must have been terrifying. >> yeah. i mean, these guys were armed, and we say pirates, and that almost gives them a cartoonish feel i think sometimes. but they're just basically gangsters. >> and her health? her health is okay? >> it's okay. from what i understand. she has -- she has some issues. but nothing life-threatening at this point. i do know that they moved very frequently. she's also into natural food and a vegetarian, and i understand her primary diet was camel milk and goat meat. >> our incredible men in uniform to do what they do. it makes you proud about this country. >> we just can't thank them enough for risking their lives. and i wanted to thank president obama for just having the fortitude to make the decision to okay the action. the fbi, i can't thank them enough. and also jess's organization was there. they stood behind her the whole time. >> i can only imagine the moment that she's there in front of you. >> yeah. it's going to be good. >> well, good to say the least. and actually, before coming back home, they've been in italy for some medical and psychological care. but let's not forget, these two are coming home. that's a great accomplishment. but another american, a journalist also being held captive by pirates in somalia, they're worried his life could be in danger because obviously the somalis are upset because of this navy s.e.a.l. rescue. that his life in greater danger. so keep him in your thoughts as well. >> absolutely good point. thanks, rob. well, syria is facing growing international pressure over its deadly crackdown on protesters. secretary of state clinton is among the diplomats heading to u.n. headquarters in new york for meetings today. clinton says the u.s. will back an arab plan to condemn the violence. the u.n. says more than 5,400 people have been killed since march. nearly 200 have died in the past week alone. this next story beyond disturbing. many muslims in canada are expressing relief after the verdict in the murders of four family members. >> you have kids, it's incomprehensible to think you that could ever do this to your own child. a couple and their eldest son are facing 25 years in prison for the killings that the judge said resulted from a twisted concept of honor. abc's diana alvear has the latest. good morning, diana. >> reporter: rob and paula, good morning. this is a horrific tragedy. four members of the same family murdered by the very people that were supposed to love and protect them. a father, a mother, a brother. all murderers in the eyes of a canadian court. a jury convicted mohammed shafia, his wife tooba, and their son, hamed, of killing three of the shafias' daughters along with mohammed's first wife, rona. so-called honor killings because the girls had boyfriends, dressed in western styles, and use the computers and social media, practices that went against their afghani tradition. >> this is a good day for canadian justice. our democratic society protects the rights of all. >> reporter: in 2009 the bodies of the four women were discovered in a nissan sentra submerged in an ontario lock. the shafias claimed it was an accident. prosecutors proved otherwise. that the women were likely killed prior to being placed in the car. and that when the nissan got stuck on a concrete ledge someone used the family lexus to ram the vehicle all the way into the water. while relatively rare, honor killings in north america had been greeted with outrage and convictions in court. last february a jury found an arizona man guilty of murdering his daughter because he felt she had become too westernized. and in 2008 a georgia man was convicted of killing his daughter for refusing to go along with an arranged marriage. in the shafias' case it took the jury just 15 hours to convict all three. they received the maximum sentence allowable under canadian law, life in prison with no chance for parole for 25 years. and the family patriarch remains unrepentant. when asked if he had anything to say following the verdict, mohammed shafia simply said, "wrong." rob, paula? >> just outrageous. thanks, diana, for that story. well, parts of central new york are digging out after getting pounded by up to 2 1/2 feet of snow. a well-organized band of lake effect snow hovered over the city of fulton for hours, making it really tough for drivers to see and navigate the icy roads. whiteout conditions made it even worse. >> nothing crazy or out of the ordinary for that part of the country this time of year. >> it's january. is it supposed to snow? >> it is dead of winter. right. >> almost february. it is february now. >> january -- tomorrow. >> yeah. today, tomorrow. >> could be april for all i know. >> here's your tuesday forecast. spring-like in the east. showers in upstate new york. new england. icy mix in maine. rain from little rock to cleveland. thunderstorms around new orleans and dallas. a dusting of snow from northern minnesota to munch mitch. michigan. >> i like the accent. 51 chicago. that sounds great. 70s from dallas to miami. 60 in sacramento. 71 in phoenix. when you look up the definition of big boy, you could very well see this little fella. or he's not really a baby. >> say hello to asher stewartson, born last thursday in a hospital in des moines, iowa. and he is definitely a big boy. all 13 pounds 13 ounces of him. >> ouch. >> little asher. and we use that term very lightly. was 23 1/2 inches long. >> so almost 14 pounds. we buried the lead here. the most unbelievable part of the whole story, his mom endured six hours of labor, did not have an epidural, and his big brother weighed 12 pounds one ounce when he was born 15 months ago. so she did it, the mom did it, all natural, no caesarean, no drugs. that kid should -- >> i have to process that story on many levels. we'll be back with more after this. ♪ baby baby ♪ the stars are shining for you ♪ ♪ and just like me i'm sure that they adore you ♪ ♪ baby baby [ male announcer ] a raw nose can feel really sore. achoo! 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[ buzzer ] [ laughs ] [ both sniff ] and this fresh scent will last? it's like you shoved a rainbow up your nose. i should go. downy unstopables. the fresh too feisty to quit. ♪ and in my heart you will remain ♪ ♪ forever young who sings that song? >> rod stewart. >> keep it that way. >> i'm sorry. >> you have a good voice, actually. >> yeah, right. we all know that 60 is now the new 40. but there's more to that than just hanging in there and keeping busy. >> love this. new research, new study finds that the middle-aged brain does some things better than a young one. abc's lisa stark has the story. >> reporter: the middle-aged brain is, well, more brainy than we thought it was. >> there's been this revolution in thinking about the brain. >> reporter: patricia cohen is the author of a new book about mid-life, age 40 to 65. >> i'm middle aged. what is my brain great at? >> verbal ability should be at a high now. vocabulary is one of the things that keeps on improving. financial skills. financial assessment, management. that's at a high. >> reporter: dr. gary small agrees. he studies the aging brain. >> when we reach middle age, there's a sweet spot where our brain cells are actually firing more rapidly than they do when they're younger. >> reporter: here's one of the if you take a closer look at the brain, the cells are constantly communicating. with the help of an insulation called milin. that milin thickens and peaks around middle age, meaning messages in the brain travel faster. that allows the brain to solve complex problems more quickly and accurately. what does that mean in terms of everyday skills? well, memory peaks around age 45. financial planning skills age 53. vocabulary, not till your 60s or 70s. but how best to stay sharp? the answer may surprise you. it's exercise. >> it will get your heart to pump nutrients and oxygen to your brain cells. chemicals will cause those brain cells to actually sprout out and communicate to each other more effectively. >> reporter: also critical, what you eat and how you feel. >> we want to eat a brain-healthy diet with fish, nuts, whole grains. we want to manage stress. chronic stress will shrink your brain cells. >> reporter: so take a brisk walk and then relax. >> your brain is really at the top of its game. >> reporter: now, doesn't that ease the mind? lisa stark, abc news, new york. >> so middle age is considered 40 to 65. so i've got a couple. >> couple years. >> three. >> also what happens exercise and they say education. so college in the long run does you some good. >> love it. very encouraging. >> think about that. and we'll be right back. ♪ so taking care of a horse is pretty expensive, even in the best of economies. but now the number of abandoned horses is soaring. >> so a farm in tucson created a food bank for horses. owners can get some free hay. but there is a catch. kgun's karinne hatala reports. >> reporter: paying it forward in the old pueblo. the heart of tucson horse rescue is taking their efforts one step further way pay it forward with heart program. a food stock stocked with hay. >> you can't penalize the good people out there with horse that's are doing the right thing. it's the economy and it's the price of hay. >> reporter: what is the price of hay right now? >> it's about $20 a bail. and last year about this time it was about $9. >> reporter: horse owners struggling to pay the extra feed costs are turning to the food bank. judy glor, the founder of the heart of tucson says a separate community fund is keeping it n running. and just as the program's named those who get the free hay will pay it forward. >> they can donate a bail back until they finally clear out what they have taken from the food bank. and that goes back in to help the next guy. >> reporter: those who qualify can use the food bank for a month. the program providing a short-term solution to climbing hay prices. what happens when the family can no longer feed the horse? >> well, they'll put them on craigslist. they try to get rid of the horses. and you just don't know what's going to happen to them anymore. we've had record numbers of horses being turned out in the desert and dying. >> wow. we researched this a little bit. the minimum, very, very bare minimum to take care of a horse is $1,500 a year. that could just escalate. >> look aught t you go here. >> i'm afraid of horses. >> u.s. banned horse slaughter in 2007, but since then a number of horse exported to mexico for slaughter up 600%. to canada almost 150%. scary. stay with us. [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪ ♪ what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ♪ ♪ stand a little taller ♪ ♪ what doesn't kill you makes a fighter ♪ ♪ kelly clarkson back on top. good to see that. >> good to see that. >> finally this half hour, the number one tupperware seller in north america lives just outside of here, new york city, and can barely keep up with all the demand. >> yes, they still make tupperware. well, this is because despite appearanc appearan appearances this consultant's parties are never a drag. >> reporter: there's a bit of heavy lifting. >> this is load number six. >> reporter: and primping before bobby suhan becomes aunt barbara. >> hi, everyone! >> reporter: at 6'5" with heels and hair aunt barbara sells tupperware at parties like this one on long island. >> this is my favorite product. >> reporter: yep. tupperware. just like your mother or grandmother may have bought. the line is updated. but the way tupperware is sold hasn't changed. home parties where the host gets free items depending on sales and aunt barbara can sell, all right. >> you can flip a grilled cheese, flip a pancake. i was coming here tonight, a little eye shadow. one clean sweep. >> reporter: spatulas, containers, even cheese graters come to life. >> her enthusiasm for the products, her honesty for the products, everything was a complete sell. >> reporter: it's why diane termina booked aunt barbara. >> she talks you into wanting to buy more stuff. even if you don't need it, you just buy it because of the way she entertained it. it's just great. >> reporter: her own mom used to sell it upperware 45 years ago, but not like this. >> tupperware parties were usually very boring. but this was far from boring. >> reporter: so why did bobby, a former social worker, become aunt barbara? >> times are tough. you've got to make a couple bucks these days. you know? >> reporter: and he channeled his own aunt barbara for the role. at 43 he's the biggest tupperware seller in north america. >> it's item number 1293. >> reporter: more than $250,000 worth of products last year. she books six months to a year in advance, with each party generating many encore performances. >> a lot of them are booking parties. so i'll be back in this neighborhood again. >> ha, ha! she's making money. >> yeah. started selling tupperware when he was 38 years old and struggling and got his first aunt barbara outfits at the thrift shop that his mama managed. >> he was an actor, studied acting in college. kind of relied on those skills to develop this aunt barbara character. that and some pumps and a this morning on "world news now" -- sunshine state showdown. the nasty florida campaign as republicans from miami to tallahassee vote in the primary. >> and despite newt gingrich trailing mitt romney in the polls, gingrich insists he is in the race for the long haul. it is tuesday january 31st. and good morning, everyone. i'm paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson. it is winner take all in today's florida primary. if mitt romney wins, as the polls suggest, he gets all of florida's gop delegates, all 50. and that's why the political battle between romney and gingrich has been especially intense. >> now character accusations, character assassinations. gingrich has fallen dramatically in the polls since nine days ago, when he actually led in florida. >> and a week ago we thought newt was going to be the guy. not looking good. >> the ups and downs. but the vetting is good, i guess. also this morning, embarrassment for a pilot at denver's international airport. so how did a southwest airlines jet clip a light pole just outside the terminal? it led to a hassle for passengers and a big investigation for the cockpit crew. >> so many investigations of incidents at airports for the last year or so, which is kind of scary what goes on there. also later this half hour, a medical technician in dallas wanted to test an mri machine. so he asked his best friend to get scanned to see if everything was working okay. what they discovered purely by accident led to a medical miracle. a wonderful, wonderful story this morning. a very lucky best friend. >> mm-hmm. but first, after a hard-charging day on the campaign trail, mitt romney seemed to ease up last night, even breaking into "america the beautiful" before an appreciative audience. >> being up 15 points in the polls kind of puts you at ease the night before, huh? >> i'd be singing something. >> and what could be another sign of his confidence, romney will not appear at any campaign events today. however, gingrich has several scheduled for today. abc's david muir is following the race. >> reporter: this fight in florida is far different from what we've seen here. just weeks ago it was not uncommon mitt romney would deliver an entire stump speech without ever mentioning these two words -- newt gingrich. in jacksonville mitt romney walked up onto that stage, and we counted. just 33 seconds before romney took aim. >> speaker gingrich wasn't very happy with the debates, though. he said after the first debate that he didn't do well because the crowd was so quiet. >> reporter: and then outside tampa 44 seconds in. >> speaker gingrich. he's not feeling very excited these days. he's -- i know. it's sad. he's been flailing around a bit. >> reporter: and to give you an idea of what it's like for anyone watching tv in florida, in jacksonville during the news five ads in just 15 minutes, all for romney. including that controversial ad using a 1997 report from then anchor tom brokaw on speaker gingrich's ethics investigation. airing not once -- >> ethics violations. >> reporter: not twice. >> they found him guilty of ethics violations. >> reporter: three times in 15 minutes. it is an aggressive shift from the romney team after that stunning loss to gingrich in south carolina. in florida clearly outspent, gingrich vowed to stay in the race through the convention. >> that's usually an indication you think you're going to lose. when you say you're going to go on no matter what happens, that's usually not a good sign. >> reporter: gingrich blasted the front-runner in an interview with jon karl. >> and that's what you think romney is doing is buying this election? >> of course he is. >> where is he getting the money? >> mostly from wall street. >> reporter: in fact, gingrich went on to tell jon karl that he's just getting started but as we flew from jacksonville to tampa with governor romney he acknowledged he sensed a week and a half ago things were not going his way in south carolina. he senses something very different here in florida. this time around if indeed that's the case he'll point to that shift in strategy that helped make it happen. david muir, abc news, outside tampa, florida. >> and scary news for newt here because romney has done very well among conservatives in florida and among female gop members in florida as well. it does not bode well for newt's campaign. >> seems like he's trying to throw anything against the wall and see what sticks. herman cain had told jonathan karl, whom you saw in that piece, that gingrich is seriously considering making that 9-9-9 tax plan -- >> part of his campaign. >> mm-hmm. >> interesting. we'll see if that herman cain endorsement plays well. you can count on abc news of course to bring you tonight's florida primary election returns. look for updates from george stephanopoulos and diane sawyer as the polls close and the votes all come in. now to maine, where police had harsh words for the father of a baby girl missing since mid december. they say the idea that ayla reynolds was abducted from his home "does not pass the straight face test," end quote. police say they believe the adults who were inside that house know more than they're letting on. a $30,000 reward is being offered. the largest such reward offered ever in the state. there were three people in that home at the time of her disappearance. and a strange one from colorado this morning. two children are safe after being abandoned by their mother. over the weekend sarah hatfield left her two sons, ages 2 and 4, in a van parked at a gas station. the boys were eventually found, though, when employees tried to have that van towed. now, their father told police a handgun was missing from their home. that sparked fears of a possible suicide attempt. hatfield, though, turned up 12 hours later and a dozen miles away near a denver hospital. she was arrested and charged with misdemeanor child abuse. well, the hazing scandal at florida a&m is expanding. two months after the death of a drum major four investigations latest is zeroing in on a marching band fraternity. wtxl's greg angel has the latest from tallahassee. ♪ >> reporter: they are known for the tapestry mixing music with performance. but where the marching 100 once spent hours on end practicing those skills is now merely silence. their practice field here on the campus of florida a&m university has been off limits since november, when the band was first suspended following the death of drum major robert champion, and since that time there are now four different criminal investigations under way related to hazing. this new investigation we're told now revolves around the fraternity within the marching 100, kappa kappa psi, and allegations that new members were paddled. now, police are remaining tight-lipped about the case. a spokesman with tallahassee police department tells me that they will be releasing no details until the investigation is complete. meanwhile, the executive director of the national kappa kappa psi fraternity tells me that the local chapter here has been suspended pending the outcome of that investigation. from his office here inside lee hall famu president james ammons spoke monday by phone with university trustees about the new case. this comes as university leaders are trying to rid the campus of hazing practices. speaking with us a few weeks ago president ammons said he's encouraging students to speak up. >> and this is what we want our students to do. well, first of all, we want it to stop. but when it occurs, we want them to report it promptly. >> reporter: and in the four investigations now under way there thus far have been seven arrests made with more likely in the near future. in tallahassee, greg angel, abc news. in other news this morning, federal investigators are looking into an embarrassing runway accident at denver international airport. the southwest jet that just landed from l.a. was taxiing to the gate yesterday when it knocked over a light pole. luckily, the 60-foot pole was designed to collapse on impact and minimize damage to the plane. experts, though, say the incident is pretty much equivalent to a routine fender-bender. >> as an aircraft taxis off the runway, they're following lines on the pavement. and as long as they keep the nose wheel of the airplane on that line they're not going to hit any structures. >> i feel very sorry for that pilot. i'm sure he is very embarrassed. i feel for him. >> no one was injured, thankfully. and the 89 passengers on board took buses instead to the terminal. well, it's always a colorful day. today is media day at the super bowl. both the giants and patriots will face hordes of reporters at lucas oil stadium in indianapolis. the giants arrived in indy yesterday. new england had arrived sunday. so far everyone there is enjoying some unseasonably warm conditions. nobody's complaining. and then there is this tweet from the giants' mark herzlich. "two years ago i was told i might never walk again. just walked off the plane in indy to play in the super bowl. take that, cancer." and he included an expletive for good measure. he beat cancer in college, played in 11 regular season games after making the giants as a free agent. >> take that, cancer. i like that. absolutely. beat life back a little bit. >> got to have that fight. >> absolutely. let's hope they take it all the way against the pats on sunday. >> nope. go pats. >> go giants. here's your tuesday forecast. up to 20 degrees above normal from the midwest over here to the east coast. some showers in upstate new york and new england. also from cincinnati to little rock. thunderstorms, meanwhile, along the gulf coast. some snow showers in the upper midwest. and northern idaho. and some rain from seattle to northern cali. >> 52 in portland, oregon. 42 in salt lake city. and 55 in albuquerque. mostly 50s from omaha to indianapolis. 56 here in new york. and 46 in boston. well, here's a pair of twins that already have a flair for the dramatic, you could say. just ask the parents. >> little ashlyn and bryce dyer were born in toledo, ohio last night. and apparently, big sister ashlyn was in somewhat of a hurry. mom gave birth to her as dad was driving to the hospital at 85 miles an hour. papa, slow down. her first words. >> that's right. mom said all she remembers doing was screaming the whole ride, and then ashlyn was, well, right there. little brother bryce waited a little bit longer. he arrived by c-section later. everyone is doing just fine. when those babies want out, they want out. >> the majority of women don't have labors like that, though. >> where it's just so fast? >> yeah. you remember the woman that had one in a car i think in houston? >> yeah, we saw that tape. >> well, her previous -- she had two children. her first child she needed 12 hours to deliver. and then her second child delivered in a car. >> and you had two. what was your longest? >> i tried to -- >> block it out. >> yeah. push that from the recesses of my memory. they were both long. i was induced with both of my children. so they wanted to stay in. i'm like 40 weeks, enough. come on. >> we'll be back with more "world news now." ♪ we can make it if we try ♪ just the two of us ♪ just the two of us ♪ all i need is a miracle ♪ all i need is a miracle ♪ all i need is you a miracle indeed. >> now our favorite story of the day. it is a miracle. a miracle save. and it happened the day before thanksgiving. when a texas man agreed to help his friend with a work project. >> that little bit of generosity came back to him a thousandfold. jim douglas from wfaa in dallas has the story. >> reporter: this is the story of a lucky guy with a bad back and a good friend who just happened to need a guinea pig to test some new mri software. >> of course we're not able to use the software on patients until we test it out. >> reporter: john ippolito is a lead tech at prime diagnostic imaging in dallas. he and alex largent share a passion for old muscle cars. >> we like the same cars. >> yeah, cars. >> that's the main -- that's the number one thing. >> reporter: ippolito got his buddy to get an mri scan for his aching back. while largent was in the tube he also agreed to a brain scan to help ippolito check a new computer program. the image that appeared took john ippolito's breath away. >> right behind the right eye. and see, it's about the size of a golf ball. it's a good size. >> reporter: john hid his fear from alex. >> that was the big calming point, was you know, he's done this for so long, he knows that this can happen or that can happen. >> reporter: john simply told alex he saw something that a doctor needed to check out. >> probably had it for several years at least. >> reporter: neurosurgeons at medical city hospital dallas say the tumor was unusually easy to get at. they removed it before it could damage the brain. >> he's very lucky. i think he owes his friend a nice dinner. >> it's miraculous, really. i mean, that's the only way i can describe it. >> oh, this guy saved my life. without a shadow of a doubt. >> reporter: alex largent can't thank his friend enough, not just for the happenstance mri but for keeping so calm after such a devastating discovery. although john didn't show any alarm to alex, he was shaken up. in fact, so much so that about ten minutes after alex left john had his own brain scanned in the mri just to make sure everything's good. >> he's a good guy. he's a good friend to have. so he's just as good a friend to me as i am to him. >> reporter: if there is a favor to be repaid, john says friendship is payment enough. >> how many times can you say one of your friends actually saved your life? you know? >> what an amazing story. a very lucky guy. and the guy, the victim in this case was very lucky as well because that tumor was in what they call a silent area of the brain which doesn't really affect any critical functions of your brain. so lucky all the way around. >> and it was a low-grade tumor, but it could have developed into something very difficult to remove. >> got it just in time. and the trick there, too, bedside manner. the friend stayed calm. that's so important for doctors. everyone stay calm, no matter what it is. it helps. >> what are you talking about? >> don't you freak out. coming up, ashton kutcher -- he's freaking out a little bit. he doesn't want us to read his tweets anymore. >> really? come on, ashton. and david beckham's putting more skin into "the skinny." it's all next. ♪ skinny ♪ so skinny welcome back, everybody. well, of course we know ashton and demi have been in the moore -- been in the news now -- >> been in the moore? >> been in the moore. for a while now. the divorce. all the messy stuff going on with her. now her apparent drug problems and hospitalization. but now ashton's taken a very unusual step. he's blocking some journalists from his twitter account. keep in mind he has more than 9 million followers on twitter but now he's decided to block out a few folks from radaronline and star magazine. it could be with some reason here because it was "star" magazine that broke the details of the divorce, the $300 million divorce, nine weeks before the official announcement. and "star" magazine also published those photos of him partying in san diego including the picture with the 23-year-old mistress who he cheated with on the sixth anniversary of his marriage to demi moore. so he probably has a reason to not like these folks. now has blocked them from following him on twitter. not that that should really stop them from finding out what they need to find out. >> sensitive. >> seems like a symbolic gesture. a little sensitive by ashton. so he's taking a small step to fight back against the media. >> when you get your twitter account, are you going to block me? >> i would never block you. once you teach me how to use twitter. because i have no idea. >> you help me with facebook i'll help you with twitter. >> done deal. >> we know the super bowl is coming up this weekend, and we've seen some previews of a couple of the ads. but david beckham, if we can just show you a little bit of video. i don't really know -- >> she's very excited about this. >> -- what i'm going to say over this. but this is his new ad for h & m. they spent about $3.5 million. >> let me wipe some drool off your papers. hold on. >> hey. he is a married father of four. what is he selling again? >> this is your story. >> okay. so yes. this is just a little sneak peek of the ad. anyway -- whoa. hello. >> move on anytime you want. >> and honda. we were talking about ferris bueller, the new ferris bueller ad. and honda released it. this is actually -- i thought it was hysterical. and you know, there were a lot of references, a lot of similarities to "ferris bueller's day off." it's 2 1/2 minutes in its entirety, but of course they're going to condense that for sunday. but all promoting honda's crv. >> brilliant marketing by honda. creating buzz. here we are giving them some more free advertising this morning. people love the commercials. so we'll see the full thing come sunday evening here. also mentioned a few days ago that oprah was going to be the new godmother to beyonce and jay-z's little one blue ivy. well, apparently that's incorrect. and we all got corrected by who else? 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now, what my unscientific survey has shown is that women drive around the car park more slowly looking for a space but they're more likely to drive forwards actually into a parking space whereas men are more likely to reverse. and as for actually parking between the lines, well, men and women are just as likely to both be off center. time then for some individual analysis. >> reverse into this space. >> right. >> as well as you can. >> right. >> reporter: charlie approaches well. does what's known as a reposition shuffle. and ends up between the lines. for the girls it's 20-year-old kirstie, with a slightly bigger space. and after nearly a minute she gets there. >> that wasn't bad. >> it was terrible. >> reporter: so after years of stereotypes and research to the contrary, women are officially better at parking. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. >> you can say it now. come on. give me some credit. >> give you some credit. i have yet to see you park. i will save my judgment for when i see you behind the wheel. >> right, straight, left, straight -- honey. >> that was on the way to work today. that was it. >> this is really telling in terms of the battle of the sexes. this was a covert surveillance study. but when men had a female passenger in the car, they tried to fit into a smaller space just to show off. >> we've got to impress the ladies with our driving. back that thing up. more with -- well, whatever. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.